Talking about work: School students views on their paid employment

Hobbs, S., Stack, N., McKechnie, J. and Smillie, L. (2006) Talking about work: School students views on their paid employment. Children and Society, 10, pp. 123-135. (doi: 10.1111/j.1099-0860.2006.00030.x)

Abstract

Seventy 15-year-old students in rural and urban Scottish schools, who had previously answered questionnaires about the extent of their part-time employment, were interviewed. Work appears to be the norm in their communities, 79 per cent having worked and most of the others anticipating working before leaving school. Although the interviewees’ accounts of their jobs give some support to those who argue that most of the paid employment school students undertake is routine and boring, it was also found that most of the young workers found their work satisfying and believed that their experience of working helped to prepare them for adult life. It is proposed that research on the meaning of employment for school students should be extended and that the self-report techniques currently employed might be supplemented by observational studies.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Stack, Professor Niamh
• Authors: Hobbs, S., Stack, N., McKechnie, J., and Smillie, L.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Education
• Journal Name: Children and Society
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
• ISSN: 0951-0605
• ISSN (Online): 1099-0860
• Published Online: 11 July 2006